For China and the United States, virtually all technology eventually touches on cybersecurity. But cooperation, based on trust, can be achieved. Trust is the basis of any cooperative relationship. Without it, concrete initiatives are incredibly difficult to implement.

The recent US cyber-attack on Iran, in retaliation for the downing of its drone, raises new questions for the militarization of cyberspace: what are the norms governing cyber war? What are the implications for international cooperation on the global Internet? How can governments stop cyber-attacks from escalating in unpredictable ways? These matters greatly concern the US and China.

The case involving Meng Wanzhou’s extradition to the U.S. illustrates the precariousness that U.S. allies must face when balancing their relations with the U.S. and China.

Deterrence will not be enough.

Doing so means a bigger defense budget.

The US must demonstrate that cyber attacks and manipulation of social media will incur costs.

China-US interdependence should prevent the two countries from entering a Cold War. Mutually assured destruction will prevent a hot war.

Is the repeal of net neutrality in the U.S. moving the country closer to a Chinese system of internet monitoring?

A series of episodes in recent years – including Russia’s cyber interventions to skew the United States’ 2016 presidential election toward Donald Trump, the anonymous cyber-attacks that disrupted Ukraine’s electricity system in 2015, and the “Stuxnet” virus that destroyed a thousand Iranian centrifuges – has fueled growing concern about conflict in cyberspace.